The Masquerade of Truth
by Butterfly Dreamer767
Summary: Tori Hansen woke up in the hospital not knowing who she was or how she got there. But as she slowly starts to regain her memory, she discovers that the past few weeks in the hospital are going to be the least of her worries. Tori-centric, AU.
1. Recall, Remember, Repeat

**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, Masquerade of Shadows, and anything else owned by anyone else.**

**Ch. 1: Recall, Remember, Repeat**

_It is dark._

_But it is not still._

_The inky blackness swirls around her, lifts her hair slightly, and causes her to shiver. She is wandering down a tunnel. There is no end; the tunnel leads to nothing._

_Yet she knows she must keep on walking. There is a force that beckons her. It calls her name. It urges her on._

_And then, without warning, the tunnel ends. Now she is falling, plummeting into nothingness. Her mouth is stretched into a silent scream as the air whistles by. It shouldn't be possible to fall for this long._

_Finally she hits water. The impact forces the air out of her lungs. At first the water is icy cold, but soon she can't feel it any more. She slowly drifts downward and lets her eyes fall shut. A soft murmuring accompanies her descent. It is dark, so dark._

_She could almost say it was peaceful._

* * *

Her eyes snap open.

The first thing she sees is white. White ceilings, white walls. The second thing she notices is the light. It blinds her, contrasting sharply with the void she was just in. She realizes that she is lying down. Tubes snake out of her arms and into various machines.

_Where the heck am I?_

The thought causes her to panic. _Who am I? What happened?_ The girl searched her thoughts but couldn't find any answers to her questions. _Why can't I remember anything?_

She began to hyperventilate. Suddenly a voice cut it. "Whoa, whoa! Take it easy. You're going to be fine."

She shot straight up. From what she could tell, it looked like she was in a hospital bed. In a hospital room.

_Okay…_

"You're going to be fine." The voice repeated. Turning her head, she noticed a man with a white coat standing next to the bed, checking something on one of the machines she was hooked up to.

"Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing here?"

"I'm Doctor Anton Mercer." The man replied. "As to where you are, you're in Angel Grove General Hospital. You've been through quite an ordeal." He turned towards the door. "Dayu? Could you come here?" He called.

A young woman entered the room. "Please check on Patient Five." Dr. Mercer instructed her.

The girl glanced to her other side. There was another young woman in the room. This young woman, Patient Five, was also in a hospital bed, lying completely still.

A glance at the rest of the room didn't reveal much else. On the far side of the room by Patient Five there was a window covered with a shade and drapes. Two wooden chairs with green fraying cushions sat against the opposite wall. A wooden desk separated the hospital beds. Besides the various other machines, the tiny room was bare.

She turned back to Dr. Mercer. "Who am I? Why can't I remember anything?"

Dr. Mercer cleared his throat. "As I said, you've been through quite an ordeal. I don't know the full extent of what you've been through, but your mind is blocking you from remembering."

"But you know who I am?"

Dr. Mercer hesitated. "I do, but I don't think it would be wise to tell you. In my professional opinion, it would be best to let you remember things on your own. Telling you what you're purposely blocking out may have catastrophic consequences."

"Oh." The girl was silent for a moment. "But shouldn't I know what you know? It could help me remember."

"We want you to remember on your own and then tell us what you do remember. You sustained a few injuries and we need to know if any of these are the cause for your amnesia."

The young woman glanced over at Patient Five. "You called that girl Patient Five. Are there others like her? Are- are they like me?"

"If you mean that they can't remember anything, than yes." Dr. Mercer glanced over at Patient Five. "She was one of the others brought in. We needed double occupancy in rooms to fit all of you."

"Others? How many others were there?"

Dr. Mercer hesitated again. "I really shouldn't be telling you this…"

"How many?"

"Including you? Twelve."

* * *

_She was back in the water, sinking further below the surface. Her eyelids felt heavy and slowly began to close. A few last air bubbles drifted us towards the glassy surface of the water._

_**Peaceful, so peaceful…**_

"_Tori!"_

_She jerked. __**I know that voice…**_

"_Tori!"_

_There it was again. It sounded desperate, frantic, as if the owner of it was searching for something he couldn't find._

"_TORI!"_

_**Wait a second… that's my name!**_

_Suddenly the water felt frigidly cold. Panic shot through Tori. __**I've got to get out of here! I've got to get air!**_

_Tori began to claw desperately at the water, trying to reach the surface. The water started to churn violently and she felt like she was being held down by an invisible force. The surface of the water was clear, which allowed her to see the owner of the voice dive into the water. He began to swim down towards her. He stretched out a hand as if his intention was to help pull her up. Tori extended her hand, straining to grasp the outstretched hand of the other person. For a moment she made contact…_

_And then everything went black._

* * *

She woke up again.

White ceiling, tubes and machinery, incessant beeping.

_Breathe in, out. In, out._

Tori lay gasping for breath, feeling scared but triumphant. She remembered who she was! Then her good mood deflated. Yeah, she knew her name, but nothing else. Tori pushed herself into a sitting position so she could get a better view of the room. _How did I get here?_ The bare room yielded no information that could help her. Then she remembered the other young woman in the room. _Patient Five._ She shuddered. _That sounds positively dehumanizing._

Tori turned, expecting to see the girl sleeping. Instead, Patient Five (Tori really had nothing else to call her at the moment) was propped up, staring towards the small window which still had the shade drawn. Her lips were moving as if she was speaking to herself. However, her chanting seemed melodic._ She's singing._ Tori cleared her throat.

"Hello?"

The girl didn't react. Tori frowned. Patient Five seemed to be wrapped up in her own little world as she continued to softly sing. Tori closed her eyes and blocked out the beeping and whirring of the machines in the room. She could almost make out the tune and the words of the girl's song when a commotion from outside of the room drowned out the girl's voice. Startled, Tori glanced towards the door.

A moment later a young man burst through. His face was flushed as if he had just been in an argument with someone. He stopped short when he saw Tori. "Tori! You're awake!"

Another young man charged into the room. "Bro, I want to see Tori as much as you do," he addressed the first young man, "but I don't think you're allowed to barge through a hospital, yell at an orderly, and make enough noise to-" He broke off when he saw Tori. "Oh. Looks like she's awake."

"That's what I just said."

Tori studied the two young men in front of her. The first one who had entered had black hair and dark eyes. He was clad in blue jeans and a navy sports jersey. The second was taller, blonde, and had blue eyes. He wore the same outfit as the first young man, except his jersey was crimson. Both stared expectantly at her. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" She finally asked.

Before either young man could answer her question, three more young men hurried into the room. "Wow Blake! I've never seen you move so fast! The way you dodged past that security guard was awesome and that nurse's eyes popped out of her head when she saw you run up that wall…Tori! Finally! You're awake!"

A young man with brown hair, brown eyes and a bright yellow sweatshirt grinned at her. Tori's head was swimming slightly at the energy he had displayed during his rant. He was very… enthusiastic to say the least. "I think we've all established that I'm awake. Can we establish who you all are?"

The yellow-clad man's smile vanished. "You mean you don't remember us?"

"The doctor _did_ tell us that she lost her memory." An Asian man pointed out. He was wearing a green collared shirt.

"Wait." Tori squinted at the yellow clad figure. A name had been hovering just beyond the realm of her consciousness. She recognized him, she knew she did. Then it hit her. "Dustin! And Cam! And Shane!"

The fifth person, dressed in red, and who had been quiet until now, came to the edge of the hospital bed. "Hey Tori. Glad to see you remember us."

"Aw, I knew she couldn't forget us!" Dustin's smile was back in full force. "Cause we've been your best friends for like, _ever_!"

Tori couldn't help grinning in spite of herself. "Come on guys, take it easy! Amnesia, remember?"

"How could we forget?" Shane shook his head. "We've had doctors constantly reminding us."

"Constantly? How many times have you guys been here?"

"Oh, once, or twice, or ten times a day." Dustin shrugged.

"For a week and a half." Cam added.

"Wait, what! I've been here _for a week?_" Tori's mouth fell open. "You're kidding me!"

"And it's been the worst week ever!" Dustin exclaimed. "First you practically disappear off the face of the earth for the longest time and then you reappear, and we're all like 'Yes! We can finally see Tori!' But then the doctors are all like 'No, you can't see her, she can't have visitors, it's detrimental to her health, she's out cold, blah blah blah' and we're all telling ourselves not to beat up these jerks up because they're taking care of you, but then _yesterday_ we had to restrain Hunter who was going to beat up some idiot who thought you were just faking it for attention and then-"

"Hold on." Tori interrupted. "Who's Hunter?"

A wave of shock passed over Dustin's features. "You don't remember?" He turned around and dragged the first two young men over to her. "Hunter? Blake? The Bradley Brothers? You don't remember them?" Tori shook her head. "Oh my gosh, what happened to you?"

"Dustin!" Shane rolled his eyes. "Take it easy on her!"

"Did you hit your head?" Dustin wondered. "You probably hit your head."

"She probably hit it really hard." Blake pointed out.

"How hard would she have had to hit it?" Shane asked.

"Well, if you take all the symptoms of a concussion…" Cam started.

"She would have a bruise if she hit her head." Hunter peered at her.

"Does she have a bruise?"

"I don't see anything."

"Her hair could be covering it."

"Guys?"

"…and the mathematical probability…"

"Do you have memory loss when you get a concussion?"

"I know your head hurts a lot."

"Oh, that's real helpful."

"Guys?"

"…And then there's always the possibility that…"

"GUYS!"

The boys quickly fell silent. Tori sighed. "I'm sorry, I really don't remember you." She told the Bradley brothers. She turned to Cam. "Your guess is as good as mine as to what happened. But I don't think-"

At this moment Dr. Mercer and his assistant Dayu hurried into the room. "I tried to tell them they couldn't come in, sir, but they wouldn't listen." Dayu explained.

"Hey Doc! Tori remembers who she is!" Dustin called out cheerfully.

"Boys, you really shouldn't be in here!" Dr. Mercer scolded. He pushed his way through the group to get to Tori. "Patient Six, are you all right?"

"Her name is Tori." Hunter told him pointedly.

"I'm fine Dr. Mercer." Tori smiled weakly. "A little overwhelmed, but fine."

"Did you remember anything on your own?" Dr. Mercer asked. "Or did these hooligans tell you everything?"

"Hey!" Dustin protested.

Tori smiled slightly. "I remember my name is Tori Hanson, I'm nineteen and I live in Blue Bay Harbor, which is a few hours from Angel Grove. That's Dustin, Shane, Cam." She pointed to each boy in turn. "I don't remember those two, but they say their names are Hunter and Blake."

"That's good Tori!" Dr. Mercer smiled. He turned to the boys. "I warned you not to tell her things she doesn't remember!" He smile seemed to grow forced.

"Doc, chill! It's not like Tori's going to explode or something because we told her the names of her friends!" Dustin rolled his eyes.

"Still, I think it's time for you to leave now." Dr. Mercer and Dayu began to herd the boys out the door. "Tori's had enough excitement for now."

"Fine, fine, we're going." Shane yanked his arm out of Dr. Mercer's grasp. "Bye Tori. It was really good to see you're doing better."

"Bye Shane!" Tori gave a little wave.

The rest added their goodbyes as they were pushed out of the door. Tori laughed softly after they were gone.

"You've friends are certainly… something." Dr. Mercer remarked. "They can get pretty loud."

"They can be quite energetic, but they're harmless." Tori smiled.

"Harmless? You should see what they've done to the lobby." Dr. Mercer shook his head as he examined the screen of one of the machines in the room. "They have a habit of kicking potted plants when they're upset." He shook his head. "Your hydration levels are still too low. Dayu, would you please bring me a bag of water from station ten?"

"Could you tell me why I'm here?" Tori asked. "I feel fine. A little tired, but I don't see why I am here in the hospital."

Dr. Mercer sighed. "Fine. I don't see any harm in telling you. You came in severely dehydrated, with multiple wounds on your arms, and a broken ankle. You have a cut on your hand that looks badly infected and you displayed many symptoms of a concussion when you came in."

Tori processed all this. "And the others that came in with me? What about them?"

Dr. Mercer shook his head. "They're all in similar or worse conditions. One girl is currently in a coma. Another cannot speak." He broke off. "I don't know what happened to all of you, but it is imperative that we find out." He finished attaching the new bag to the IV machine. "Right now, it is best if you rest. We've found that the other patients can best remember things after they've slept. " He and Dayu exited the room.

Tori sighed in frustration. It seemed that with every answer Dr. Mercer gave to her questions, ten more questions took their place. Obviously she needed to talk to someone else if she wanted any information. Tori turned to face Patient Five. She was still singing quietly to herself, a distant expression on her face. It was as if the last few minutes had never transpired.

"Do you know what happened to us?" Tori asked. The girl continued singing. Tori laughed softly. "Who am I kidding? You can't even hear me. You're obviously blocking something too, or you have no idea what's going on."

Tori's eyelids began to feel heavy and a wave of exhaustion shot through her. "I wish I could meet the others. They might have more information." Her eyelids continued to drop. "After all-"

She never got to finish her thought. Tori felt herself being pulled back into the realm of sleep, back into the inky blackness.

She could have sworn right before she fell asleep Patient Five turned to her, stopped singing, and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Everything is going to be alright Tori Hansen."

Or maybe it was just her imagination.

**A/N: Hello! I've recently started watching Ninja Storm and I love the season! So I decided to write a Fnfiction- which turned into a giant cross-over with multiple seasons of Power Rangers. This will mainly be Tori-centric, but will be AU because I will be using characters from multiple seasons. I got the concept of this story from a computer game called Masquerade of Shadows. I know I have multiple stories out there I should update (and I hope to soon) but this is the first story I have a solid idea on where I am going. I will be updating at least once a week.**

**As always, reviews are greatly appreciated! **


	2. Watched, watched, watched

**A/N: And Now For the (Kinda Long) Author's Note! **

**1****st**** to respond to my lovely reviewers:**

**Guest: Thank you for reviewing! I'm so glad you are enjoying the story! I hope you like this chapter!**

**Son of Whitebeard: I'm glad you think so! Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**kitten9322: Ninja Storm is one of my fave seasons too! As to your question about pairings, I will definitely have some in this story; they just might take a while to emerge. I can definitely honor certain parts of your request, but for some people I haven't exactly decided who they will end up with, especially since I am doing multiple seasons. This chapter will have a few more appearances by some characters from more seasons… I'm trying to work in as many as I can, whether they have a major role or just a cameo. You'll also find out a bit more about Patient 5 in this chapter. Hope you like it!**

**At this point I would like to remind readers that this story is rated T (for mentions of torture, violence, and death). Nothing will be too graphic but I want to just make you aware of what you might come across. If you want a frame of reference, I would say this will probably be like NCIS. I don't want to make younger or more sensitive readers upset, so please understand the content level might be geared more towards older teenage readers at times. **

**That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter! This chapter is in Hunter's P.O.V. I am not a journalist, so the "news article" I wrote is probably not that great… its primary function is to give some details about what happened to Tori without revealing too much.**

**Disclaimer: The moment when you're editing the chapter and you realize you've typed **_**Dr. Hooper**_** instead of **_**Dr. Mercer…**_** I don't own Power Rangers or Masquerade of Shadows (Or Sherlock. ) **

**Ch. 2: Watched, watched, watched**

Hunter Bradley felt guilty.

There was no reason for him to feel this way. After all, the events that had transpired were in no way his fault. But he couldn't stop the nagging feeling that he was somehow responsible.

_But honestly, what could you have done? You had a theory of who kidnapped her, but no actual proof. Except for the random coincidences, there was nothing to suggest that They did it._

Hunter frowned. He should have done something. He should have talked to Sensei Wantanabee. Granted, probably nothing would have been done, in fear that the public would know the truth, but at least he would have had _done_ something.

12 women taken. 12 women lying in a hospital, all of whose conditions were worsening. And no answers- just guesses, which couldn't be explored because if They were truly behind the kidnappings investigating would be playing straight into their hands.

Hunter looked at the newspaper lying on the chair next to him. **KIDNAPPER STRIKES AGAIN! **the headline screamed. The front page story, because it was front page news. He scanned the story for what seemed like the millionth time, trying to find something that would confirm his suspicions.

_Victoria Hansen is the ninth woman who has disappeared under a set of mysterious circumstances, in what the FBI is calling "the strangest case we've seen in years". Hansen was seen going into her office building, but never came out of the building. Hansen's colleagues didn't think much of it until she didn't show up at work for three days._

"_Tori would have said something if she was sick or couldn't come in" Hansen's boss, Ryan LIstz said. "She's very responsible."_

_The security staff present that day does not recall anything out of the ordinary. According to the doorman, Hansen came in at her normal time and did not seems to be under any distress .A fellow co-worker remembers "there was a black car parked across the street that I've never seen before and a person walking closely behind Hansen wearing a black sweatshirt with the hood up. I thought it was odd because it was a warm day, but wearing a black sweatshirt doesn't make you a bad person." The witness also recalls the hooded figure stopping in front of Hansen's building and watching her enter._

_The story mirrors that of eight other women who have recently disappeared. Certain elements- a dark car, a hooded figure following- have appeared in the cases of these eight women._

_The cases weren't brought to national attention until Summer Landsdown, heiress to the Landsdown fortune, was taken. Landsdown was on her way to a friend's party- and she never showed up. Neighbors recall seeing a dark car parked across the street from Landsdown's destination. "It's like she disappeared into thin air" Landsdown's friend, Victoria Williams said. _

_Landsdown's cousin, Emily Fields, hired a private investigator after 48 hours had passed without any word from Landsdown. Someone had alerted the local police force that on the night of Landsdown's disappearance they noticed a blond girl screaming and struggling as a hooded figure dragged her towards a dark car. This incident took place on the route Landsdown would have taken to get to Williams' party._

_Landsdown's disappearance made national news. That was when the California police came forward. They had reports of four similar situations as Landsdown's. The missing were Kimberly Hart, Trini Kwan, Aisha Campbell, and Katherine Hillard. All disappeared within a week of each other._

_A week after Landsdown's disappearance, three other girls went missing. This time, Tenaya Stevens, pop singer Kira Ford, and dance instructor Lily Chilman were all taken on the same day, at the same time. Stevens disappeared from her college campus on the East Coast, Ford disappeared on the way from her French hotel to her concert venue, and Chilman never came back from her lunch break. Witnesses who recall seeing the young women all reported seeing black cars and hooded figures._

_At the time of Hansen's appearance, the FBI and CIA had joined forces to investigate the now seemingly-related kidnappings. A spokesman from the FBI stated that "[w]e're currently doing everything in our power to investigate the disappearances of these young women. Rest assured, we will get to the bottom of this." (Story continued on page 3…)_

Hunter dropped the newspaper back onto the stack that was on the other chair. After Tori's disappearance, three other girls had gone missing- among them Emily Fields, the cousin that had hired the private investigator for her cousin, Summer. She was the last to disappear, after Celia Reynolds and Mia Wantanabee.

It was all so strange. There was seemingly little connected the girls- no overarching similarities in appearance, socio-economic status, or occupation. Nine lived on the West Coast (three of whom were born in the south), two resided on the East Coast, and one girl lived in the Midwest. Their ages ranged from seventeen to twenty-six. It seemed like the perfect mystery- except for the one glaring fact that connected them all.

Bu the media didn't know about that- no one was supposed to… except for him, Blake, Shane, Dustin, Cam, and the dozens of others working back at Ops. But their identities were never supposed to be revealed. Yet somehow, They had found out. But what confused Hunter the most was that the girls were _kidnapped_- not fought, like usual… and then they showed up a month later. From what Hunter knew of Them, this was highly uncharacteristic. _Which was the main cause for your doubts. _

"Hey."

Startled, he looked up. Tori had woken up and was sitting up. "Hey." He replied.

She stared at him quizzically for a moment. "You're… Blake's brother, right?"

_Typical. _"Yep."

"Hunter." Tori looked pleased to have remembered his name. She nodded towards the newspapers. "What were you reading?"

Hunter looked at the newspapers. "Oh, nothing much." He didn't see much benefit in showing Tori the news story- it might only upset her. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually. I've been feeling exhausted, but now I don't."

"Yeah, Blake came by the other day to see you, but he said you were kinda out of it." Hunter had been by a few times in the past but Tori was sleeping every time he came to visit.

"Blake visited?" Tori frowned. "Huh. I don't remember him stopping by…"

Hunter didn't respond- he didn't know what to say. The silence in the room continued until Hunter finally spoke up. "So- who's your friend?"

"Her?" Tori turned towards Patient Five, who was currently awake and staring at the window. "I don't know. I don't even know her name."

Hunter studied the girl. She had wavy light brown hair and dark green eyes. Her expression contained an immeasurable amount of sadness. Hunter didn't recognize her. "Hey." Hunter finally spoke up. Patient Five slowly turned to look at him. "What's your name?"

The girl studied him with a calculating expression. "Celia." She finally replied.

"Wow, I'm impressed. You got her to talk." Tori said. "I've been trying to, but she wouldn't respond to any of my questions."

"I'm sorry." Celia replied, and slowly turned back to the window.

Hunter stood up. "Do you want me to pull open that shade? It's been closed ever since we came in last week-"

"No." Celia quickly replied. "I miss the sun, but…" she paused suddenly. "Watched. Watched, watched watched. Tick-tock goes the clock, watched watched watched."

Hunter turned to look at Tori. "What's she saying?"

Tori shrugged. "She pretty much stays in her own little world- she's always singing, or saying something that makes no sense. I asked Dr. Mercer if she was alright. He said that her singing was probably her way of coping with whatever happened to her."

"It's a little creepy." Hunter stared at Celia as she continued her chant in a sing-song voice.

"Ah, Tori! You're awake!" Dr. Mercer strode into the room. "How are you feeling?"

"All right, I suppose." Tori shrugged.

"Do you remember anything new?" Dr. Mercer asked cautiously.

"I remember most things- but the last few months are a total blank."

"Hmm." Dr. Mercer was silent for a moment. "Well, I wanted to let you know that we are moving all of you into a larger room tomorrow so that we can monitor all of you in an easier way. You may also remember more once you see the people you came in with."

"Okay." Tori responded. It seemed to Hunter that she was growing tired again. Dr. Mercer seemed to notice it as well.

"Why don't we let Tori rest?" He suggested quietly to Hunter. "You can come back and see her tomorrow." He left the room.

Hunter stood up. "See you later Tori. Hope you feel better."

"Mmm- thanks." Tori was already drifting back to sleep. Hunter turned towards Celia, and after a moment's hesitation, said goodbye to her as well.

Celia turned and faced him. She gave no other indication that she heard his farewell. Instead, she looked him straight in the eye, as if trying to tell him something very important and said:

"Tick-tock goes the clock. Watched, watched,watched."

**Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	3. Less Time Than I Thought

**A/N: Hello readers! I hope you are having a fabulous day. Before I answer reviews, I would like to just give a general statement. I appreciate how you guys request to see different characters/pairings, and I will do the best I can to honor everyone's request. That being said, you may not see your character/pairing right away because I have already written several chapters ahead of this one. But please continue to request characters/pairings- I want to know what you'd like to see!**

**Kitten9322: I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Celia is pretty creepy, but you'll soon see why. I'll do my best to honor your requests. Hope you like this chapter!**

**Sweetredranger: Thank you! I can definitely put your characters in a future chapter, although it may be a while. I would love to check out your stories! I hope you like this chapter!**

**MCA: Hi! Thanks for your review- I am so glad you are liking the story!**

**Thanks also to tomwilliams1990 and PrimaFaba for favoriting and following!**

**Disclaimer: It will be mine once I win the lottery or invest in a great stock in the stock market. But for now? Yep. Still don't own it.**

**Ch. 3: Less Time Than I Thought**

_The dream is both startlingly familiar and strangely foreign._

_Seven year old Tori lies sleeping in her bed. All is quiet in her house until a sudden rapid pounding at the door wakes her up. Tori sits up in excitement. _"_Maybe that's Daddy!" She thinks. Her dad has been away on a business trip for the past week. Tori hopes that he has decided to surprise them by coming home early. She slips out of her room and tiptoes to the banister. Kneeling, she peers through the slits of the thick wooden posts that help conceal her from sight._

_The pounding continues. Tori wonders why her mother hasn't answered the door. She starts to stand up, then stops. Through the slits she can see the living room, and her mom. Her mother bends over a wooden chest (the one Tori isn't allowed to touch) and takes out a circular object._

_**BAM!**_

_The door crashes open. Her mom whirls around, clutching the circular object. And then Tori sees him._

_He is a monster. Tori always thought that monsters weren't real, but she sees now that she was wrong. There is a maniac gleam in his eyes. He turns towards Tori's mom. Something silver flashes through the air. _

_Someone screams._

_Tori isn't sure if it was her. Her hands fly up to cover her mouth. She thinks she sees the monster start to turn towards her, but then she is blinded by light. She turns and rolls away from the banister, back into the dark hallway where she knows she will be safe. Downstairs, shouting and crashing sounds begin to shake the house. Tori curls up into a ball, squeezes her eyes shut, and presses her hands to her ears. The horrific scene flashes before her eyes over and over. The shouting gets louder and louder…_

The twelve women were all moved into a fifth-floor room that bore resemblance to an army hospital ward. The room was large and spacious, with six beds lined on each side. Wooden desks sat in between each bed. On the far wall, there were two windows with the shades drawn. Other than that the room was as boring and impersonal as all the others had been.

It had been three days since Hunter had visited and Tori had been sleeping each time someone dropped by to check on her.

"Guys, don't you think this is getting weird?" Blake asked while they were waiting for the elevator.

"What's weird?" Shane asked.

"The fact that Tori's been in the hospital for a few weeks now and she's not getting better." Blake responded.

"And what's weirder still is the fact that none of them are getting better." Hunter added.

Shane frowned. "Yeah, the whole thing is weird."

"You know what's really strange?" Dustin spoke up. "That Celia chick."

"She seems nice…" Shane began.

"Dude, she freaks me out! She's always singing or chanting some creepy stuff!" Dustin argued.

"Yeah, it's really strange." Blake added.

"Scott told me there's another girl who acts like Celia. Maybe it's just a reaction to trauma." Hunter suggested.

"Maybe." Dustin entered the elevator.

"Well, let's act happy to see Tori- weird roommates or not." Shane said.

"If she's awake." Hunter muttered under his breath.

The boys entered the hospital room. Tori was at the far side of the room, near the window. There were a few other people in the room visiting their friends.

Tori was sitting up in bed, reading a book. She looked absolutely fine, but she was still hooked up to various machines.

"Tori! You're awake!" Dustin hurried over to her.

"Hey Dustin." Tori looked up and smiled. "Why wouldn't I be awake?"

"Do we tell her that she's been asleep for the past three days?" Blake muttered to his brother.

"I'm thinking not." Hunter muttered back.

Shane seemed to share their sentiments, for he smiled at Tori and said, "We're just glad to see you, Tor. You look like you're feeling much better than the last time I saw you." He proceeded to tell Tori what had been going on at the Academy during her absence. The other boys chimed in at times, adding details or funny stories.

Blake was in the middle of telling Tori about the latest motocross race when Hunter noticed one of the other visitors stand up and head towards the windows. The young man pulled up the window shades, opened the windows, and sunlight and fresh air flooded the room.

There was a few seconds of silence as people turned to look out the window. Then chaos erupted.

A few of the girls started shrieking in terror. The heart rate machines burst to life and began to beep rapidly. Someone fainted, which caused one of the machine's alarms to go off. Tori's face was white with terror. Another girl started crying. The visitors all stared at each other in shock. _What was going on?_

Hunter felt a sharp tug on his sleeve. Looking over his shoulder he saw Celia, who had been previously sleeping, sitting up and looking at him with a clear, determined expression. "Close the window and draw the blinds." She hissed. "Now."

Hunter stared back at her, startled.

"GO!" Celia's voice rang with determination.

Hunter strode over to the window, pulled it closed, and drew the shades. He returned to Celia. "Don't say anything." She instructed in a low voice. She flopped back down on the pillows and shut her eyes.

Hunter was about to ask her _what the heck was going on_ when Dr. Mercer rushed into the room with a few other doctors.

"What is going on here?!" One of them exclaimed. The other doctors hurried to check on the patients.

"I think visiting hours are over now." Dr. Mercer said sternly. He and another doctor began ushering the visitors out of the room. "I suggest that none of you return today."

Hunter looked back at Celia. She opened her eyes, gave him a pointed stare, then shut her eyes again.

It took a few hours to calm the patients down. One girl had torn her stitches and another had re-dislocated her shoulder. Dr. Mercer had decided to give everyone a mild sedative to help them sleep. Celia knew it was wise to pretend that she was still asleep. This might be her opportunity to learn something.

She could hear Dayu and Dr. Mercer talking to one of the girls- the one that requested that the window be opened. Their voices were low, but Celia was able to pick up most of the conversation.

"I just wanted the window open." The girl sobbed. Celia opened her eyes slightly to see who they were talking to. It was one of the younger girls- Mia. "Kevin said he would open it."

"What happened when he opened the window?" Dayu gently prompted.

"I looked out- and I saw him! He was there!" Mia's voice grew panicked.

"Why are you frightened by who you saw?" Dr. Mercer's voice held a note of urgency.

"I don't know! He's a bad man- and- and- I don't want to talk about this anymore!" Mia cried.

Dr. Mercer sighed heavily. "Alright. Dayu, please give her a bit of the sedative to help her sleep." Celia heard him walking towards the door. "I have to go see Dr. Motodrone."

After Dayu left, Mia's sobs grew fainter until Celia could no longer hear them. She was tempted to sit up and see if anyone else was awake when she heard Dr. Mercer and Dr. Motodrone walk into the room.

"Is she asleep?" Dr. Motodrone asked.

"Yes- Dayu gave her a mild sedative. The rest are asleep as well- we can talk freely."

"What do you think upset them?" Dr. Motodrone asked, walking towards the windows.

"I'm not sure." Dr. Mercer came over to join Dr. Motodrone. The blind rustled. Celia cracked open her eyes. Dr. Mercer was peering intently out of the window. "Whatever it was, they all must have seen it at about the same time." He stepped away from the window. "They're demanding answers again."

"Did you tell Them we're doing the best we can?" Dr. Motodrone asked.

"I did. But They continue to grow impatient."

"They need to give us more time!" Dr. Motodrone exploded.

"Calm down." Dr. Mercer instructed. "They want answers."

"But the task They've charged us with is near impossible!" Dr. Motodrone argued. "None of the girls remember anything important, and they never have the opportunity to talk with each other!"

"Tomorrow afternoon they will." Dr. Mercer said. "We've timed it so the girls all will be awake at the same time. I've also instructed security to not let any of their friends in. That way they'll only have each other to talk to."

"Are you sure that will work? That they'll be able to form coherent enough thoughts to describe what they remember?"

"It's basically our only option left." Dr. Mercer frowned. "I've been given an ultimatum- sixty hours or we're done." He paused. "We need to do this. Not only will our status improve if we get the information, but we've been promised a rather lucrative reward."

"Sometimes I wonder if those girls are even who we think they are." Dr. Motodrone replied.

"I haven't told him their names- just in case we're wrong." Dr. Mercer admitted. "If these aren't the people we're looking for, telling him their names could cause us major problems." He sighed. "We've got sixty hours to figure this out- and they won't talk to us. Our options are severely limited."

"I suppose you know best." Dr. Motodrone's voice faded as he and Dr. Mercer left the room.

Celia frowned. If her hunch was correct, the doctors were getting desperate- and she had no idea what they would do. This was not good.

_We have less time than I thought._

**Please Review! Reviews are inspiration!**


	4. 7:30 AM

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks for your review! Hope you like this chapter!**

**sweetredranger: Glad you liked the chapter! Hope you like this one!**

**Kitten9322: Hey, no worries! Basically Tori had a nightmare, the girls were all moved to one room, and something happened to freak them all out. This chapter should explain a bit more what's going on, especially with Celia. I am leaving some things ambiguous for now, but I will explain it all soon! Hope you like this chapter!**

**fallingstar22: Thanks! You'll get some more info about what the doctors are really doing in this chapter- they're not the good guys! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Thanks also to Red Shadow Ranger for favoriting/following!**

**Disclaimer: If it's not mine, I don't own it. (Which includes Power Rangers, Masquerade of Shadows, and all other recognizable material.)**

**Ch. 4: 7:30 A.M. **

**7:30 A.M.**

**Location: Angel Grove General Hospital**

Hunter stood in the hospital's reception lobby. Visiting hours didn't begin for another half-hour, so he couldn't go check on Tori. He had been elected yesterday to be the one to come and find out what had happened. Last night he, Shane, Blake, and Dustin had told Sensei Wantanabe what had happened at the hospital (minus the part about Celia, because Hunter had a feeling he shouldn't say anything about that yet). Sensei decided that one of them should return and talk to the girls to try and determine what exactly happened. Sensei informed the other teams that they should stay away from the hospital because they didn't want to make anyone suspicious. There had been some serious grumbling, but Sensei pulled the seniority card. Hunter had been selected (since he visited often, Sensei thought his presence would be the least suspicious). So here he was.

He had left an hour ago, anticipating traffic, but surprisingly there was none. Now he was here, a half-hour early, with nothing to do. If he tried to go visit Tori he might draw suspicion- which wasn't what he wanted.

Turning, he noticed that there was a pair of sliding glass doors that led out to a fenced-in garden. _Why not? _He decided. Taking a walk might help clear his thoughts and pass the time. He walked outside, heading along the path. It was a beautiful day-the sun was shining, birds were chirping, a slight breeze was blowing. Hunter quickly grew lost in thought- until he turned a corner and saw Celia sitting on a bench, two feet away.

"Hunter Bradley." She gave him a small smile. "I can't say I'm surprised to see you." She indicated the bench across from her. "We need to talk. Sit."

"Not until you answer my questions." Hunter shot back.

"And I'll do that. Once you sit." Celia looked down the path. "Listen, this is the only safe place to talk."

Hunter sat down. "So explain to me- you're sane right now? Like you know what you're saying?"

"Oh I know what I'm saying." Celia grinned. "As to if I'm sane? That's a subjective question."

Hunter rolled his eyes.

"Sorry." Celia quickly said. "I know that I was acting really weird and that you have no reason to believe me, but-"

"You were acting?" The whole time?" Hunter interrupted.

"Well, yeah." Celia replied with a hint of pride. "How else was I supposed to figure out what was going on?"

Hunter shook his head. "Okay, here's how it's going to go. I ask the question, you give me answers. Got it?" Celia nodded. "First question- why were you kidnapped?"

"Why do you think?"

"That's not an answer."

"I don't know for sure, but I think it has something to with," she lowered her voice, "The Group. You know, L.O.R."

"Do you belong to L.O.R.?"

"Not exactly."

"Then how do you know about it?"

"Let's just say I help out when I'm needed- I don't belong to a team. Oh yeah- we've actually met before." She added offhandedly.

"So if you're not part of L.O.R., why were you taken?"

Celia shrugged. "Guilt by association?"

"So who took you? And how did they know about your 'association' with L.O.R.?"

"I don't know." Celia frowned. "I have a guess- one that I can support with evidence- but it's just a guess."

"Let's hear it."

Celia looked uncomfortable. "Look, this is going to sound crazy, okay? Just hear me out, and then you can tell me what you think." She took a deep breath. "I think the hospital staff is part of The Order. Not all of them, but the ones who are treating us. They want information from us- and they can't get anything."

"What makes you think that?" Hunter asked.

"I'm going to start from the beginning. I don't know who took us, I don't know why we were taken- but I don't think it was The Order. And if it was, whoever kidnapped us was acting on their own.

"We were taken to dark warehouse and locked in an inner room. There were no windows and only one door. The ceiling was at least forty feet above us. I was the tenth person to arrive. There were twelve cots in the room. The other girls had no idea how long they had been there. There was no way of knowing how much time had passed. Meals were brought in at random times, seldom, and never any sort of pattern or sequence.

"They came in and selected us at random- there was no apparent pattern. We were blindfolded, tied up, and they put headphones on our ears to cancel out noise. They took us out of that room and led us somewhere else. There was no way of knowing where, because we were led on a different path every time. We were brought to a small dark room.

"There, they asked us questions. Questions about L.O.R., about who we were, about what we knew. They obviously knew what L.O.R. was- the questions reflected that." Celia broke off.

"Did they get answers?" Hunter asked slowly.

"They did." Celia twisted her hands in her lap. She avoided Hunter's gaze. "They had very- _persuasive_- methods of getting information."

There was silence for a while Hunter was curious to know just what had happened in the warehouse, but Celia didn't seem all that keen on giving details. Finally she took a deep breath. "So… that. Yeah. Well, the process continued; eat sometimes, sleep sometimes, be questioned often, with no rhyme or reason- and suddenly it just stopped. No one came to the door. No one came to take us. We tried to find a way out, but there was no escape from that room. Our kidnappers were gone. They either got the information they wanted or felt they had to leave. Finally, a warehouse crew discovered us.

"That brings me to the second part of the story. As you know, we were found in a warehouse on the outskirts of a Midwestern city, but were brought to a West Coast hospital. That alone is weird- unless there's a reason. And I think there is.

"I'll cut to the chase- they're drugging us. Or at least they attempted to drug me. The first day we got here I woke up while that nurse, Dayu, was making an IV. I saw her take a syringe and put a strange milky liquid into the bag. I asked her what she was doing and she freaked out. She wouldn't answer at first, but when I threatened to run screaming down the hall that she was poisoning me, she begged me not to."

"Wait," Hunter interrupted, "why did you think she was trying to poison you? The milky stuff could have been medicine."

Celia shrugged. "I actually didn't think she was poisoning me. I wasn't completely serious when I said that. It was her reaction that made me suspicious."

"What makes me suspicious is that you immediately resort to accusing her of poisoning you." Hunter narrowed his eyes.

"You're telling me that if you woke up in a strange room after being kidnapped, questioned, and tortured, and you see someone putting a strange white liquid that instantly dissolves into an IV bag, with said person wearing a guilty expression while doing it, and begs you not to tell anyone, you're not going to suspect that something is up?"

"Well, I don't know." Hunter replied. "It isn't a situation that I've been in before."

"Okay, so my slightly sarcastic comment turned out to be truer than I thought. Let's call it a happy coincidence and move on."

"Fine by me." Hunter said, slightly amused.

"I asked her why she was poisoning me." Celia continued. "She said it wasn't poison, but some sort of medication. She had received a call the night before. A deep voice told her that she would receive a package the next morning and she was to follow the instructions the packet contained. The voice told her that they had taken her boyfriend, and if she didn't follow their instructions, well-" Celia paused. "You can imagine."

"She told you all this?"

"She seemed very frightened and didn't want to do what they asked her, but she had no choice. She wasn't supposed to say anything to anyone- the phone call made that very clear."

"And yet she told _you_ all this?" Hunter repeated.

"She was traumatized and about to go through with it anyway. The 'medicine' was supposed to induce deep sleep- Dayu said _they_ wanted us to be confused. There was this whole elaborate plan, but she didn't know much about it- just that the medicine would make us sleep and that she was supposed to give it to us. And that there were side effects of the medication, so the caller would know if she had done what was asked of her."

"I highly doubt you let her get away with that."

Celia smiled. "I cut a deal with her. I told her I would pretend to be under the effects of the medication if she would tell me what the side effects were. In return, I would try to help her find out who took her boyfriend. She didn't believe me at first, but I informed her that I had very powerful friends. Which probably means T3 is going to have to do some digging."

"I'm sure they'll be happy to." Hunter replied with a slightly sarcastic tone. "So did she agree to this crazy bargain of yours?"

"The alternative was me running down the hallway, screaming."

"Well aren't you just the finest negotiator ever." Hunter smirked.

"Go ahead, poke fun. It still worked. Dayu gave the medication to everyone else. She reported everyone's conditions to Dr. Mercer- within my earshot. I then knew how I was supposed to act."

"Why didn't she just let you run screaming down the hall? She could have claimed you were crazy."

"I don't think she wanted to take that risk. I highly doubted at the time that the whole hospital was in on it."

"And how did you figure that?"

"Think about it. If the whole hospital was involved, why write the note? Why the secrecy? The phone call? Why go to the lengths of kidnapping someone to ensure compliance? Worst comes to worst, they could just lie to the nurses and tell them it was regular medication- or let them in on it."

"So what makes you think that soomene at the hospital is involved at all?"

"Someone here has to have some level of involvement. How else would _they_ be able to know if Dayu administered the medication? The person here may not be calling the shots, but they definitely have a role. I've thought about it- I've had a while to- and I narrowed it down to who the insider could be. It has to be someone who has access to video feed and surveillance footage- that way they could constantly watch the patients. The person also has to have clearance to order medication, but isn't someone who typically administers it. They are in a position of authority or power, but not so much so that they feel comfortable doing something that is probably illegal. It has to be someone no one would immediately suspect, but someone so glaringly obvious that you would write your suspicion of them off on the grounds that it couldn't be that easy."

Hunter raised an eyebrow. "And who could possibly fit such complicated requirements?"

Celia leaned forward. "Dr. Mercer. And I think Dr. Motodrone is in on it too."

Hunter sat back. It actually made sense. Both doctors had acted rather strangely at times, and Dr. Mercer seemed very interested in what Tori could remember. "Okay. So what does that mean?"

"I heard Dr. Mercer and Dr. Motodrone talking yesterday. They said something about an ultimatum." She paused. "Which means we've got a problem."

**A/N: Ah, a cliff hanger! ( What'd you expect? ). I know that this is a Tori-centric story, but I will be having different P.O.V.'s... I feel that this adds to the story.**

**If you can, I'd really appreciate a review! Ask a question, give some feedback- it's all welcome and greatly appreciated! Reviews are also very inspirational- knowing that someone is waiting to read my story makes me really happy. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	5. Tick Tock Goes the Clock

**A/N: Okay, super sorry this is so late! Thankfully, finals are now over so the next update should happen soon, as I will have more time to type up what I've written. Before I answer reviews, I just want to say that just because a pairing is hinted at doesn't necessarily mean that that will be the ship in this story. I'm playing around a bit with the characters to decide whom I should pair with whom. Anyway, if you're not reading for ships, no worries, romance won't dominate this story, although there will be a bit more of that later. Right now they have to escape the hospital- there's no time for flirting! **

**PrimaFaba: Thanks for the review! I love that you are enjoying the story so much! I think Tori is awesome- she has to be with all those guys on her team! I'm sorry it took me so long to update the story- I hope this chapter makes up for it!**

**Wolfgirl2013: Yeah, Tori's not in a great situation. Thankfully, she's got her teammates to help her… although they will go about doing it in a rather… unconventional way. (You'll see.) Thanks for the review and enjoy this chapter!**

**Fallingstar22: Thanks for the review! I was a little worried about how believable Celia would be, so I am glad you saw her role as an important one. Cam, being the computer genius he is, will play a big role in the plot to get the girls out of the hospital. As for the names, you're right- I didn't select villains at random. I felt that some villains were over-or underplayed in certain PR series- so I am exploring them a bit more while trying to keep them in character. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Kitten9322: L.O.R. is definitely an important component to this story- I'll be hinting a bit more at what it is, but it definitely is important to Tori and her friends! (I don't want to give too much away yet.) Celia's so fun to write- I'm trying to make her more than your average O.C., while not letting her dominate the story. As to if Hunter and Celia will get together, that's a good question. I'll consider it! I hope you like this chapter!**

**Neen: Hi! You'll find that this chapter has a lot of action! I'm glad you liked the last chapter- I'm trying to balance suspense with a moving plot, while still keeping some things mysterious. Thanks for the review, and hope you like this chapter!**

**Enjoy this chapter everyone! I'll update soon, I promise!**

**Ch. 5: Tick Tock Goes the Clock**

**8:30 A.M.**

"We need to get out of the hospital tonight." Celia continued. "Dr. Mercer said yesterday that they had 60 hours left to figure out something for someone. The patients are all expected to wake up this afternoon and talk to each other- the doctors probably expect us to reveal the information they are looking for."

"Which can't happen- especially if they're looking for info about L.O.R." Hunter cut in.

"Agreed. Which is why we need to get out tonight. I can stall, and if some of the others remember enough, they may catch on and be able to stall too- but the sooner we get out, the better."

"It's kind of short notice." Hunter frowned. "How do you propose we break twelve people out of a hospital?"

"I'm sure that T3 and the strategic department can come up with something." Celia glanced down the path. "What time is it?"

Hunter looked at his watch. "8:30."

"And the sun has been setting at about 8:45- let's make it safe and 9:30. That gives us thirteen hours. Is that enough time?"

"If your earlier deductions are correct, it'll have to be." Hunter stood up. "I'll go back to headquarters and talk to the others. We should be able to figure something out." He startedto walk down the path, then turned around. "By the way, why did you tell me all this when you could have talked to anyone? After all, I'm not the only person from L.O.R. that has been to the hospital."

"I don't know the other Rangers very well, but out of all of Tori's friends, it seemed that you would believe me. The others would have just tuned me out and called me crazy. But you kept an open mind. And you've been here the most often, so you've been able to observe more. Plus…" Celia trailed off.

"Plus?" Hunter prompted.

"You seem like you'd do anything to help Tori."

Hunter froze. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Celia gave a little laugh. "Whatever you want it to."

**11:53**

The brown UPS truck pulled into the Angel Grove Hospital parking lot. The driver got out, walked to the back of the truck, and took out a bin filled with packages. He went into the hospital and headed towards the front desk. The driver placed the bin on the desk. He greeted the secretary and started to help her unload the packages from the bin. Most of the packages were the usual assortment of hospital supplies and letters to long-term patients. One package, however, stood out quite prominently among the brown boxes and white letters.

"What's with the flowers?" The secretary asked the delivery man.

"Not sure. We don't usually deliver them, but they came in at the last minute." He glanced down at his clipboard, then handed it to the secretary to sign. "The customer said it had to be delivered ASAP."

The secretary signed the clipboard, then turned around the rearrange the packages on the back counter. She shook her head. _Some people have the stranges_t _requests. _She thought. _That customer is just going to have to wait; they flowers will be delivered when everything else is._

**2:30 P.M.**

"Oh, good. You're finally awake."

Emily Fields sat up in bed, startled. The young woman who had spoken to her was standing a few feet away, leaning on crutches. "About time."

"Where am I?" Emily gasped, looking at her surroundings.

"Angel Grove General Hospital." The young woman indicated the room with a tilt of her head. "You've been in a coma. We were told that you'd probably wake up today. Guess those doctors were right."

"How- how long have I been comatose?" Emily asked.

"About six weeks. You remember how you got here, right?"

"Yes." Emily closed her eyes. How could she forget? The horrible scenes of a month and a half ago played over and over again in her mind. She shuddered and opened her eyes. "What's going on?"

The young woman stepped back. Emily could see that there was a circle of chairs in the middle of the room. Ten other young women sat in the chairs. Emily recognized Mia and Summer. She thought that most of the other girls looked familiar. "We're having a pow-wow." The injured girl said pointedly. "Apparently there are things we should talk about."

Emily got up shakily and stumbled to the circle of chairs. "So what are we starting with?"

**2:57 P.M.**

"What are they saying?"

Two creatures sat watching a group of monitors. The question was asked by their third companion, who had just returned from his lunch break. To call these creatures ugly would have been polite. Their features were grotesque; their bodies clad in red, black, and silver armor. They looked every part the foot soldier- exactly what they were.

"Not much." The biggest creature growled. "It's infuriating- all they're doing is talking about their early childhoods and their last few weeks in the hospital."

"Basically nothing they're saying is incriminating." The other creature at the desk said.

The third creature narrowed his eyes. "This is infuriating! I say we take them now and bring them into Zurgane ourselves!"

"We were told we must act with caution." The second one replied.

"To heck with caution! If these aren't the right ones, then who cares! We'd find something to do with them."

"If we don't get any answers soon, we'll have to tell the doctors. A new tactic must be employed if we are to learn anything!" The third one raged.

**3:36 P.M.**

Dayu cleared her throat. "Excuse me, I don't want to interrupt, but apparently Celia got a delivery." She walked in and handed the girl a bouquet of flowers. "Someone from UPS delivered them this morning. It's quite unusual that someone would send flowers through UPS."

Celia smiled. "I have family from far away."

"Well, you finally got something." Dayu shrugged. "Considering you've had no visitors…" she added as she left the room.

Celia opened the letter attached to the flowers. She grinned as she read the card and shook her head.

"What's so funny?" Tori asked her.

"Just an inside joke. It's rather silly." Celia replied.

"Looks like a bunch of nonsense to me." Tenaya sat back, twirling her crutches.

"Like I said, inside joke." Celia said cheerfully.

**4:53 P.M.**

The girls had decided to take a break from their pow-wow. Celia stood up. "I'm going for a walk. Anyone want to come with?"

"I thought you went for a walk this morning." Lily spoke up.

"I did. I guess I have cabin fever." Celia shrugged. A few of the girls agreed to go with her.

**7:24 P.M.**

Dayu swiped her card at the nurse's station. She was supposed to have clocked out nineteen minutes ago, but a new intern hadn't understood how to work the computer filing system and Dayu had been chosen to explain it to him. Dayu grabbed her purse and exited out through a side door. The sun was just beginning to set and the sky was glowing red. As Dayu began walking down the side parking lot, a feeling of unease settled upon her. She felt as if someone was watching her intently. _Which is strange, because technically someone has been. _She was worried for Dekker, as the only thing she had been told was whoever had taken him wasn't hurting him because she was being compliant.

Dayu was passing one of the alleyways leading off from the parking lot when she thought she saw something move. Pausing, she peered down the dark alleyway, but saw nothing. _Must be my imagination _she decided. She started forward again.

Suddenly a pair of arms grabbed her from behind and dragged her back into the alleyway. Dayu struggled and started to scream, but a hand was shoved roughly over her mouth.

"Quiet! Stop struggling!" A voice hissed.

Dayu continued to thrash.

"I'm serious! We're here to help you!" The hand was removed from her mouth.

"Let me go or I will scream!" Dayu's voice rose in pitch.

"We found Dekker. He's safe. Now we've got to get you out of here!" A new voice spoke.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Dayu demanded.

There was silence for a moment, then someone cleared their throat. "Let's just say we're helping number five keep a promise she made to you."

**9:47 P.M.**

The young intern shut the door and sighed. He had been assisting a group of young athletes with physical therapy. A few of them were angry that they couldn't participate in their sport and they often took out their frustrations on the people who helped them with physical therapy. Rehabilitating athletes and helping them return to their sport was a rewarding experience, but it wasn't easy.

The intern traveled down the hallway. He was glad the second floor was relatively quiet tonight. He had a splitting headache and hoped that there would be no unnecessary drama this evening. The intern rounded the corner and came upon one of the nurse's stations.

That's when he saw the patient.

She was furiously typing away atone o the computers located at the station. "I have to find it!" She cried.

"Hey! You're not supposed to do that!" The intern exclaimed. He stepped forward and gently grabbed her wrists. "Miss, you have to return to your room."

"No!" The girl yanked her wrist away. She resumed her furious typing, while her eyes darted wildly from the screen to the keyboard and back. "I have to find it!"

"Miss…"

The girl ignored him as she continued to type. "Where'd it go? Where is it?"

The intern sighed and grabbed his walkie talkie off of his belt. "Yeah, I have a situation here. Second floor, Kiosk D. Unruly patient. Okay, thanks."

A few moments later a ward and a nurse stepped out of the elevator down the hall and hurried to the kiosk. "What's going on?" the ward asked.

"She's been typing away at this computer for a few minutes. I've tried to get her to return to her room, but she refuses to listen.

"I have to find it!" The girl cried.

"What do you have to find?" The nurse turned to the patient.

"It's gone, it's gone, it's gone." The girl moaned. "Where'd it go?"

"Whatever it is, you won't find it here." The nurse replied. "You need to return to your room."

For a moment, the patient looked like she was going to protest again. The she deflated. Her hands stopped moving and rested on the keyboard. "It's gone."

The nurse took the patient's wrist and read the ID band. "Come, Miss Reynolds." The two started down the hallway. Suddenly an alarm started going off. The nurse froze. "Where's that coming from?"

The intern glanced at the computer, where a message had popped up. "Third floor, west wing."

"That's my department." The nurse said. She turned towards the intern. "Will you please bring Miss Reynolds back to her room? She's on the fifth floor, east wing, room 502."

The intern signed and guided the patient towards the staircase. During emergency situation only responders were allowed to use the elevators. He recognized the room number that the nurse had told him- it was the room where the twelve young women who had been kidnapped were staying in.

_So much for a drama-free evening._

They reached the fifth floor. On their way to the east wing, a doctor and nurse rushed by. "Another alarm went off, doctor. The problem appears to be on the first floor. Room 107."

Just as she was finished speaking, a third alarm went off. "What's going on now?" The doctor shouted over the noise.

"That's the alarm for the ambulance garage It's supposed to go off if someone breaks in."

"Well, find someone from security and send them to check it out!"

Finally the intern and Miss Reynolds reached room 502. "Here we are Miss Reynolds." The intern opened the door. "Please stay in your room. It's getting a little crazy-" He broke off. There was something wrong. The room was completely dark, no machines were beeping, the beds were neatly made." It was as if no one had ever been in the room. The only indication of life was a curtain blowing slightly in the breeze that came through an open window on the other side of the room.

In the eight seconds it had taken him to process this, the patient had stepped behind him, grabbed his arms, and pinned them behind his back. "I'm sorry for this." She told him. He felt a slight prick on the back of his neck. Three heartbeats. Then his knees buckled and the room began spinning. The girl laid him gently on the ground, then ran to a table by one of the beds. He watched hazily as she dropped a syringe on the table, then turned and sprinted towards the open window. She hoisted herself up and balanced on the edge, catlike.

The last thing he saw before his eyes slipped shut was the girl springing off of the window sill, out into the dark night.

**A review would be greatly appreciated, if you have time! There will be more Tori and the Ninja Storm Rangers in the upcoming chapters, now that they've escaped the hospital! Also start looking for your requested pairings and cameos!**


	6. Tell Me a Story

**A/N: Here I am, promising you lovely readers an update every week, and not keeping up my end of the bargain. I know you don't want my sob story of how busy I am, so let's get to the story! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks for reviewing! I had a lot of fun writing that rescue, so I am glad you enjoyed it.**

**fallingstar22: Thank you! As you will see in this chapter, you're very good at predicting things! Hope you like this chapter!**

**Jaydenlover15: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like the story so far and thank you for the compliment about my news article. **

**kitten9322: Don't worry! I'm just playing with ideas for ships for a bit, and will do my best to honor your requests. My ideas for ships have shifted a bit, so in upcoming chapters you will see some of the ships you requested. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Thanks also to yoshifanx and Dark Yellow Ranger. Hope you like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I forgot to do this for the last chapter, so this one counts for both: I don't own anything that belongs to the Power Rangers Franchise or the creators of Dark Angels: Masquerade of Shadows. **

**Ch. 6: Tell Me a Story **

When she woke up, she panicked.

It was as if she was in that awful warehouse again. The darkness choked her, the silence screamed. Tori bolted up.

A white florescent light flickered on above her head. Tori looked around the room wildly. A desk was set up on the far wall, a dresser was next to her cot. There was a table set up in the middle of the room with a chair on either side of the table. Other than that, the tiny room had no other furnishings. All of a sudden, Tori recognized where she was. She got out of bed and headed to her desk. It was organized just as she had left it. _How'd I get here? The last thing I remember was…_

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in." she called.

Celia opened the door, her arms full of various sheets of paper and a plastic bag on her arm. "Glad to see you're up." She shook the bag off of her arm onto the table. "Breakfast from Hayley's." Celia winced as the papers she was holding landed with a loud thud on the table. "Sorry."

Tori crossed over to the table and withdrew the food from the bag. "So what's all this?" she asked, indicating the large stack of papers Celia was sorting into piles.

"The Council wants to know everything that happened. So I volunteered to help them interview people so a report could be filed." She sat down and considered to arrange the piles of paper. "I've already talked to Shane, Dustin, Cam, Blake, and Hunter- I wanted a bit of background information about you and your team before I started asking you deep, probing questions."

Tori sat down and began pouring granola into her yogurt. "So do you any idea what's going on? Wait scratch that- you obviously have a part in this."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, last night you left the hospital room before the lights went out. Then you came flying through a window with a scene of chaos and pandemonium behind you."

Celia sighed. "Yeah, you probably want an explanation for all that."

"That would be nice." Tori stirred the yogurt angrily. "The last thing I remember after seeing you jump out of that window was one of the dark clad figures telling me to be still. I'm getting kind of sick about not being able to remember things."

"Join the club." Celia replied. "Okay, ask me what you want- I can't guarantee that I'll know the answers to everything though."

"How about you start with what happened? And what's been happening for the past few months?"

"Before I begin, how much do you actually remember?"

"Mostly everything, I think. The past year is a bit spotty. Actually understanding what I remember? That's the hard part."

"I'll start with last night." Celia shifted her papers to the side. "Last night was a rescue mission of sorts- we returned to L.O.R. headquarters about twelve hours ago."

"A rescue mission? From the hospital?"

"There are people there who work for the Order. Dr. Mercer, Dr. Motodrone, possibly others. Dayu was forced to cooperate with them- they kidnapped her boyfriend. They wanted information from us- for the Order."

"I thought we were kidnapped _by_ the Order."

"I did too. But now I suspect that it was someone who is somehow connected to the Order, not the actual Order themselves. That's still something we have to figure out." Celia paused and took a deep breath. "So, yesterday Hunter came by in the morning. I shared my suspicions with him and told him we needed to get out of the hospital ASAP. T3 concocted a scheme to get us out. They set me a coded message via that bouquet of flowers."

"That note you said was an 'inside joke'?" Tori asked.

"Yeah. Anyway, one of the instructions was to locate a syringe containing a mild sedative."

"That's why you went for a walk yesterday afternoon."

"Yep. The note gave me the location of a supply closest- I swiped it from there. I then was supposed to wait until that evening, sneak out of the room, and go downstairs to a computer kiosk. Can wrote a simple code that allowed him to hack into the hospital system and set off alarms- all I had to do was type the code into the computer. The purpose of the alarms was to distract the doctors and nurses so we could escape."

"That sounds… complicated."

"Yeah, it was." Celia sighed. "Cam reassured me though that no one was hurt- he made sure he set off alarms for empty rooms and that only a few doctors and nurses would have to report to that room so that none of the other patients were in danger. L.O.R also rescued Dayu and made a generous financial contribution to the hospital. The basic point of the plan was to create mass confusion so we could get out."

"Well, I'm glad no one got hurt." Tori paused. "But how does one explain the disappearance of twelve patients?"

"T3 magic. While came was hacking into the system, someone else was creating fake hospital transfer records. According to the hospital database and security cameras, we were all transferred downstate for a final checkup. We are supposed to be released in a few days."

"Wait- what about you? You were seen hacking into the hospital system."

Celia laughed softly. "Yes. Well, according to Cam, hospital security caught me running around on the roof. They brought me to the police, who decided upon seeing doctor reports- all fake- the best place for me would be an insane asylum. Which probably means I can't go visit Angel Grove any time soon."

Tori bit back a smile. "So- everything's good? There won't be any problems?"

"As far as I can see, T3 took care of everything. They're geniuses down there.

There was a sudden knock at the door. "Come in." Tori called.

A young man dressed in red entered the room. "Hey. Sorry for interrupting. You're Celia, right?" he asked the younger girl.

"Yes. And you would be Jason Lee Scott, correct?" At the boy's stunned expression, Celia smiled. "You're kind of a legend around here, being the first Red Ranger after L.O.R. rebuilt itself."

"I thought you were supposed to be new here." Jason remarked casually.

"I got a crash course history of L.O.R. this morning."

"Ah. Well, Alpha 5 sent me. He said the Council wants to hold a hearing tonight at six. They'll be asking questions and determining what information they still needs. Even though you're not technically a part of L.O.R., they still want you there since you've been interviewing the Storm Ninjas."

"Thanks for letting me know." Celia replied. "Will you let Alpha 5 know I'll be there?"

"Sure thing." Jason started to leave the room.

"Oh, and Jason?"

"Yeah?" he turned back around.

"If you run into anyone from T3, tell them that I think whoever came up with the bright idea of having me jump out a window five stories off the ground, aiming to catch black rope, at _night_, should probably rethink their life. I almost missed that rope, and dying was _not_ on my agenda yesterday."

"You actually jumped out the window?"

"Yes I did- wait. What do you mean actually?" Celia frowned.

Jason shook his head. "There was a bet going around on whether you'd jump. I guess there was an alternative plan, but people wanted to see if you'd actually jump."

Celia opened and closed her mouth, trying to find something to say. Finally she asked "Why?"

Jason shrugged. "They justified it by pointing out the fact that while you seem to know a lot about L.O.R., L.O.R. knows little about you. The Council was pretty quick to accept it once they learned there was a back-up plan." He left the room.

"Glad to know of my status as the human guinea pig." Celia muttered. She turned to Tori. "Alright. We've got until six tonight to get your story straight. Feel free to tell me anything- I don't judge and if there's anything you don't want written down or repeated I'll keep it quiet."

Tori took a deep breath. "Okay. But what if there's stuff I can't remember?"

Celia uncapped her pen. "I'll fill in whatever I can, based on the notes I took while talking to the guys. Where do you want to start?"

"Honestly?" Tori shook her head. "I have no clue."

"May I make a suggestion?"

"Go for it."

"March 25th." Seeing Tori's eyes light up in recognition, Celia continued. "You know that date, yes? It seemed rather appropriate to begin with."

Tori nodded. "Okay."

"So," Celia continued, "tell me a story, Tori Hansen."

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated! If you have a moment, let me know what you thought. The real fun begins in the next chapter!**


	7. Of Monsters and Meetings

**A/N: Well, I'm not doing the best job of keeping my update promise… but the next few days aren't too busy for me so hopefully I'll put up another chapter or two. Hope you are all having a great summer! I'm going to preface this chapter by saying that the next few chapters take place before the kidnapping. Within the chapter, the italics mean a flashback and bold italics mean thoughts during the flashbacks. And yes, I did borrow plot points for the game Masquerade of Shadows and Power Rangers. (But some of the plot is mine!)**

**Wolfgirl2013: Glad you appreciated my Jason Lee Scott cameo! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**fallingstar22: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Tori is pretty confused, but she'll begin to remember some of what happened… although that doesn't mean that everything will be solved! I hope that you like this chapter.**

**jaydenlover15: Ah, L.O.R.- that's one of the little mysteries that will (soon) be solved. I hint a bit more at it here, but I will explain L.O.R. in a few more chapters. Let's just say it's very important! I hope you like this chapter!**

**Enjoy, everyone!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Masquerade of Shadows or Power Rangers. All rights go to the respective owners.**

**Ch. 7: Of Monsters and Meetings**

Victoria Hansen studied her reflection in the subway train's window. Occasionally a light from the outside tunnel window would flash by like a florescent comet, then vanish, leaving a cold darkness. Tori gripped the cool metal pole, wondering why she was going through with this. After all, she would rather listen to other's problems and try to help them. Talking about _her_ problems was not at the top of her to-do list. If it hadn't been for her friends insisting she see go see a counselor, Tori would have never made this trip.

* * *

_She had walked into the café a week ago, exhausted, but trying not to show it. The nightmares were back and she hadn't been getting much sleep. Nevertheless, she attempted to school her features into a pleasant expression as she neared the table Dustin, Cam, and Shane were sitting at. They all tried to meet up at least once a week for breakfast._

"_Hey Tori" Dustin greeted her with a friendly smile. "How's life?"_

"_It's good." Tori smiled back weakly._

_Dustin's smile slipped a bit. "You look exhausted. Are you feeling okay?"_

"_It's the nightmares, isn't it?" Shane asked._

"_Yep." Tori nodded. She wasn't surprised that Shane had correctly guessed why she looked exhausted- after all, it was the week of her parents' deaths. She gripped the edges of the table, her knuckles turning white. She hated appearing weak in front of the guys._

"_You know, maybe you should talk to someone about them." Cam spoke up. Dustin shot him a look. "What? You've been having them for years and they've been more or less the same. Maybe it's some PTSD reaction to your parents' death. A counselor might be able to help you."_

"_You know, he does have a point." Dustin took a sip of his lemonade. "I mean, your parents' deaths were pretty weird."_

_Tori gave an inward sigh. She didn't like to remember __that__ night- the one where she discovered that contrary to popular belief, monsters were __real__ and they were in Blue Bay Harbor. Sometimes Tori thought she saw their dark, shadowy forms out of the corner of her eye, but if she turned to look, nothing was there. Except for the boys, anyone she told her recollection of the night her parents died to had shaken their heads and told her that it was the traumatic experience of a child that caused her to remember the killers as monsters. "A break-in gone wrong" the papers had called it. And it was tragic circumstance that the little girl's father had been killed in a car accident on his way home from the airport. In one night, little Tori Hansen had become an orphan- alone in the world, with no one that believed her story._

"_It couldn't hurt, Tori." Shane told her softly. Shane was the only one who knew that Tori took medication for severe headaches she frequently experienced. The doctors who gave her the medication had warned her that she might experience hallucinations as a side effect, which would only give the naysayers more reason to believe the monsters she saw were imaginary. But Tori had seen the monsters way before she took the medication._

"_I really don't know guys…" Tori started._

"_Shane's right." Dustin cut in. "Who knows, you may discover something deeply seeded in your past that can help explain your nightmares."_

_Tori sighed. The only explanation was that she actually saw a monster- but even she was beginning to doubt that. __**Maybe I really am going crazy.**_

_After a few more minutes of attempted cajoling and convincing by the boys, Tori finally agreed to go talk to a psychiatrist. "But this doesn't mean that I'm crazy." She warned._

"_We know that Tori." Dustin protested. "We're just worried about you."_

* * *

And that was how she found herself walking into the psychiatrist's office. The room was a bright cheery yellow with various potted plants scattered throughout the room. The shades were pulled down over the windows (to let clients remain anonymous) leaving the room to be bathed in the soft golden light from the room's three lights.

"Victoria Hansen?" the psychiatrist asked, holding out her hand. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Cynthia Harris."

They shook hands. Tori sat down on the grey couch across from Ms. Harris's chair. Ms. Harris began with asking her a few simple questions to gauge an understanding of Tori's life. Then:

"So you've been having nightmares?"

"Yes." Tori nodded.

"How long have you been having these nightmares?"

"Since I was a little girl."

"Why are you having them?"

Tori hesitated. She had a sudden sinking feeling that she shouldn't be telling Ms. Harris this. "I don't know." She finally replied. _Which __is__ half of the truth._

"What do you see in your dreams?"

Tori closed her eyes and drifted back to that night. "I see my mother" she began softly. "And… something horrible! A monster! And the monster kills her!" Panic seized her.

"Hmm." The psychiatrist scribbled something down on her thick pad of paper. "Anything else?"

Tori hesitated again. She could talk about the second part, the part with the lights and the screaming but- "No."

"What are you afraid of?" Ms. Harris asked. "What do you see in your dream that scares you?"

Tori fiddled with the hem of her shirt. What w_as_ she afraid of, really? The monster? Tori prided herself on being fearless. She could surf any wave, no matter how big. She had no problem with spiders or bugs. Fear was a four letter word- except when it came to that monster. Because she couldn't explain it, couldn't figure out what it was. Sometimes she felt like it was lurking in the shadows, watching her- but when she turned around, nothing was there. "I- I don't know." She finally said.

"Victoria, I can't help you unless you let me know what's bothering you." Ms. Harris pulled sheet of paper out of her manila folder and handed it to Tori. It was a computer printout of an online news article. Tori stared at the photo of the little girl sitting on the front lawn of a blue house, an orange woolen blanket draped around her shoulders. "You're remembering a tragic experience from your childhood and your mind is deceiving you into thinking that the robber who accidentally shot your mother was a monster." Ms. Harris stood up. "Take this your journal and record your thoughts. We'll discuss this further the next time we meet."

Tori stood up and laid the article on the brown coffee table. "Thank you for your time." She said politely. Inside she was fuming. Ms. Harris had come to the conclusion that everyone else had- poor little Tori Hansen was mentally scarred from the break-in gone bad- and her eight year old self had tricked her mind into believing that the robber was a monster. It was doubly tragic, they'd always say, because she lost both of her parents that night.

Tori stepped outside and blinked furiously as the blinding sunlight hit her face. She shoved the journal Ms. Harris had given her into her purse. She was tired of being frightened, tired of people not believing her, tired of not knowing what the heck was going on.

Tori hailed a cab and gave the driver directions to her workplace. She had called her boss to say that she would be late coming in today because of a doctor's appointment. Her boss had been pretty accommodating, considering that Tori had started working at the company four months ago.

"Is the music too loud, Miss?" The cab driver's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes. Please turn it off. I need silence." Tori could feel a headache coming on. She rummaged around in her purse for the medication she always carried on her. She took two pills, then leaned back in her seat. The cab was silent as it headed into a tunnel. Then Tori happened to glance at the cab driver. The driver's skin began to turn grey. The color seeped over his features, washing over his face like a wave upon the sand. The back of his neck turned grey as well and his hair disappeared, leaving his scalp grey and bumpy. A black and red indistinguishable mark ran up his cheek.

Tori blinked ad all of a sudden the cab was out of the tunnel. Sunshine flooded the car and the driver's façade returned to normal. _I hope that wasn't a side effect of the pills!_ She thought.

The driver pulled in front of the building that Tori worked in. "That will be 18 dollars, Miss." The cab driver said.

Tori handed the man the money. "Keep the change." She told him.

As Tori got out of the cab she glanced in the side view mirror. The driver's façade had changed again to that of what it was in the tunnel. The black and red mark on his cheek looked like a tattoo of a scorpion; the tail started in the middle of his forehead and the head ended on the right side of his jaw. He was staring right at the mirror. Tori could feel his black soulless eyes bore into her soul. She felt herself being pulled, sinking slowly into the abyss of those dark, emotionless eyes…

Someone rammed into Tori's shoulder, causing her to twist around to look at the person as her purse fell to the ground. The person walking away from her was wearing a dark grey sweatshirt with the hood pulled up. Tori shook her head and reached down to pick up her purse while the cab speed away. As she stood up, she glanced at a billboard of a famous politician. Tori watched in horror as the politician's smiling face was transformed into an evil grimace like the one on the cab driver's face. **BEWARE!** His expression seemed to say. The word **OBEY** materialized next to his face. Tori turned and ran inside of the building. Once inside, she stopped to catch her breath.

It wasn't that she was scared because she was randomly seeing creepy things. It was _what_ she was seeing.

The transformed cab driver and the picture on the billboard looked like the monster that had killed her mother.

* * *

By the time Saturday afternoon came, Tori had convinced herself that what she saw had been a figment of her imagination. She hadn't told any of the guys what had happened- when Dustin asked how her appointment went she replied "fine" and left it at that.

For Tori, Saturdays consisted of going to the beach and surfing. Her internship position was only Monday through Friday which left her weekends free. She was meeting Cam, Shane, and Dustin at the beach that afternoon.

She was in the middle of surfing a killer wave when she looked towards the shore and noticed Shane and Can standing at the edge of the water. She angled her board towards the boys. "Hey guys!" she called once she got closer. She hopped off of her board. "Where's Dustin?"

"Hey Tori." Shane greeted her. "Dustin's on his way. He said he was bringing some friends he met at the motocross track."

The three made their way back to Tori's pile of things. She slipped on a beach cover-up. "Oh, okay, cool." She replied. She set down her board.

"Here he comes now." Cam indicated three figures walking towards them. As they got closer, Tori could see that two boys were walking with Dustin, one with dark hair, the other a blonde.

"Hey guys!" Dustin waved. "These are the guys I met at the track- the Bradley bros, Blake and Hunter." He pointed to Tori and the boys. "And this is Tori, Shane, and Cam."

Handshakes and head nods commenced. "Nice to meet you." Shane said.

"You too." The blonde- Hunter- spoke up. "Dustin's told us a lot about you."

"But not everything." The other boy, Blake, added, looking at Tori with a raised eyebrow. Tori glanced at the ground, trying not to smile at Blake's flirting. She felt Shane shift beside her.

"Hey Dustin, you got a minute?" Shane asked.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Dustin replied. He and Shane stepped away from the group and began speaking in low voices. Tori couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but it sounded like Shane was upset about something.

"So you two are brothers?" Cam asked the two boys. Tori turned her attention back to the conversation at hand.

"Adopted." Hunter clarified. There was a moment of awkward silence before Blake spoke up.

"So Dustin was telling us that you surf Tori."

"Uh, yes." Tori answered. She tried to think of something to say that wouldn't make her sound stupid. "How long have you done motocross?"

"A couple years." Blake responded.

"Where are you guys from? I don't recall seeing you at the track." Tori said.

"Far away." Hunter responded.

"We just moved to Blue Bay Harbor." Blake added. He seemed like the friendlier of the two brothers, while Hunter gave off a 'dark and brooding' air.

"Oh." Tori's next attempted at conversation was interrupted by Dustin grabbing her arm.

"Hey Tori, I forgot something. Can you come help me?" He asked.

"Sure." Tori nodded.

"We'll be right back." Dustin nodded to the rest of the group. He turned to Tori. "I need you to drive me back to the motocross track- I left something very important there. Could you do that?"

"Alright." Tori nodded. She waved in response to Blake's "See you later, Tori" and allowed Dustin to drag her off. As she looked back, she noticed Blake and Hunter watching her. Blake turned to his brother and said something, which made Hunter laugh. _They sure are interesting…_

* * *

(Celia would never tell Tori what Blake had said to Hunter, even if she asked. For one thing, it would serve no purpose and would only reveal a comment said by a then immature boy to his brother. Since then, both boys had become friends of Tori and Celia didn't want to potentially jeopardize this friendship in any way.

And yes, Celia did know what Blake said to Hunter. After all, she had spent the morning talking to all the boys and had learned quite a lot- including the fact, the Storm Ninjas didn't all get along when they first met. After all, the Storm Ninja team was composed of both Thunder and Wind Ninjas- two groups that normally didn't work together.

Dustin was too far away, Cam didn't hear the comment, Blake wasn't in a sharing mood regarding such details, and Hunter had told her that it didn't matter, because the brothers had misjudged Dustin and his friends before really getting to know them. Shane, however, had overheard the little conversation between the two brothers at the beach, and Celia was eventually able to convince him to share by insisting that she needed to know the dynamic of the Ninja Team before Tori joined.

"_Oh, boy. That Tori is fine." Blak_e _remarked to his brother._

"_Yeah. Question is, why is she hanging out with a goof like Dustin?" Hunter asked._

"_Who knows. Maybe she likes doing charity work." Blake responded, which earned a laugh from Hunter._

Yes, Celia decided. Such detail was really not necessary to tell Tori. But it still was quite amusing.)

**A/N: Yes, I directly quoted dialogue from the actual meeting of the Wind and Thunder Ninjas. I don't own it, I just thought it would be amusing to use the scene and I wanted to capture as much of the first meeting as possible. I was going back and forth between including the end part, but eventually decided to keep it because I wanted to keep the same feeling from the first time all the Ninja Storm Power Rangers met. Sorry if anyone seemed OOC- I'm trying to imagine how the characters would react given the situation they are in.**

**Please review if you have the time! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	8. Do You Trust Them?

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! The lovely reviews I got inspired me to put this one up. Plus it's one of my favorites so far- I hope you guys like it!**

**sweetredranger: Glad you are enjoying the story! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

**Wolfgirl2013: Thanks! Hope you like this chapter**

**fallingstar22: Yes, Tori's nightmares are important, she has seen these monsters- and you'll see soon why the monsters killed her mother. Pairings will be revealed soon- I'm a Hunter/Tori fan too, but right now I am debating between Hunter/Tori or Blake/Tori. Hope you like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers or Masquerade of Shadows- or Hunger Games which I accidentally kind of quoted without realizing it (you'll see :) ****).**

**Ch. 8: "Do You Trust Them?"**

Ten days later, life seemed to be back to normal for Tori- as normal as it could be. She hadn't seen any more people change into monsters and she wasn't having any more nightmares. Her boss had come in yesterday and told her that she was being considered for a promotion. Tori was thrilled. She had been working really hard lately and was glad her efforts were being noticed.

Yes, everything seemed normal- except for Shane.

Shane had been acting strangely for the past week. They had been hanging out a bit more with Dustin's new friends Blake and Hunter, and Shane seemed a bit skeptical of them. Tori recalled the conversation she had had with Shance yesterday at the motocross track. They had been helping time laps for Dustin and Blake when Shane had asked her what she thought of Hunter and Blake.

"What do you mean?" Tori asked back.

"Well… do you trust them?"

Tori was taken aback for a moment. "Well, yeah, I guess. I don't really know them that well, but they seem like okay guys." Shane nodded, but remained silent. "Why do you ask?"

"There's just something about them that seems off." Shane finally replied.

Tori laughed. "Well, I admit they sometimes are a bit mysterious, having to run off at random times, but they don't seem too bad."

"Just because Blake attempts to flirt with you Tori doesn't automatically make him Mr. Perfect" Shane half-teased.

"Shane!" Tori's cheeks grew red.

"Joking. You're a good judge of character, Tor." Shane amended. He stared out across the track. "There's just something about them I don't trust…"

* * *

Shane's words were still ringing in Tori's ears as she walked home from a company dinner the next day. Her company and their client had met to celebrate a successful business deal- "The first of many." Ryan Listz had said. The party had gone quite late and by the time it had let out Tori figured that waiting for a cab would take too long. Her apartment wasn't that far from the restaurant, and it was a beautiful night.

_Why would Shane ask me if I trusted the Bradleys?_ Tori asked herself. _I mean, it's not like they're dangerous or anything._

A cold wind blew down the street, rustling the palm leaves of the trees that lined the street. Tori looked up and down the street. It was surprisingly empty. No pedestrians, no cars, nothing. It was relatively silent, except for the occasional far off honk of a horn or the wail of a siren in the distance.

Suddenly Tori heard a rustling behind her. Whirling around, she thought she saw a shadow disappear around the corner of a building. "Hello?" she called. Only silence answered her. She stood watching the building for a few minutes longer, then shrugged and turned around. _It's probably just my imagination…_

But a block later Tori was convinced that someone was following her. She could feel someone's eyes on her back and occasionally thought that she was a shadow gliding along the buildings beside her. As she neared a lamplight, she whirled around, ready to confront whoever was following her- and gasped as a dark shape came flying towards her. Tori barely managed to duck out of the way when another shape dropped down _from the roof of a building _in front of her. Tori could see another figure dart by out of the corner of her eye as she backed into the golden circle of weak light cast by a street lamp.

Tori could now clearly see the four figures that formed a half-circle around her. They were dressed like ninjas with masks covering most of their faces. The hem of their black clothing was a single colored stripe- each 'ninja' having a different color. The colored stripe also ran down their sleeves and around their wrists and shirt collars. One was hemmed in pink, one in orange, one in navy, and one in crimson. On the top right side of their shirts a tiny symbol was embroidered in their respective color. Tori was attempting to make out what these symbols were when the 'ninjas' attacked.

Tori was no stranger to martial arts- she had taken various classes since she was six. Her parents had insisted that she learn several fighting styles, although they never told her why. But she was up against four very skilled and evidently highly trained opponents- and the fact that she was wearing a dress and high heels didn't help matters. In just a few short minutes one of them had managed to pin her arms behind her back while she was fighting another of the 'ninjas'. Tori struggled against her captor's hold, but to no avail.

"This is the girl the prophecy was talking about?" The pink ninja spoke up. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Now cousin, give her some credit." The orange one said. "She did kind of anticipate the attack."

"Plus she isn't exactly dressed to fight." Navy indicated her formal attire. "And the odds weren't exactly in her favor."

"A fact that she'll have to get used to." The ninja holding her arms replied. "There's really no such thing as a fair fight."

The whole time the ninjas had been talking, Tori had been slowly tensing her muscles. As Crimson finished his sentence, she wrenched one of her arms free and simultaneously drove her elbow into his stomach and her heel into his foot. He let go of her as he doubled over in pain. Tori started to run, but Crimson recovered quickly and grabbed her arms again. "Not so fast sweetheart." He growled.

Navy laughed. "She's got some spunk." He noted with admiration.

Pink snorted. "I still think it's a wonder she hasn't been attacked."

"Hey! What the heck are you doing?" A new voice shouted.

Three new ninjas ran up to the group- red, yellow, and green.

"Just following orders." Crimson shot back.

"I highly doubt that your _orders_ included terrorizing the living daylights out of her or beating her up." Red countered.

"Yeah ,well, whatever. We were told what to do, and the rest was up to our interpretation. Follow and Test. That's pretty vague, don't you think?" Pink spoke up.

Red shook his head. "There's something called a fine line, and I think you guys crossed it."

"She's been followed all day by Them." Orange said. "This was our first opportunity to Test: don't hate just because we decided to put her through a pretty common scenario."

"Could you let go of my arms?" Tori interrupted. "I'm kind of losing feeling them." The Crimson ninja let go of her. Tori whirled around to face him. "And _don't_ call me _sweetheart_." She warned. She looked around. The ninjas didn't seem interested in attacking her anymore, so she pulled out her phone and said "Unless you all go away and leave me alone, I'll call the cops on you."

"No!" Yellow seemed panicked. "I mean, you really don't want to do that."

"It'd be a really bad idea." Orange added.

There was a loud beep. Green looked at some gadget on his wrist. "Uh guys? We've got a problem downtown."

"Well, let's go then." Red instructed.

"Wait." Navy stopped. He pointed at Tori. "We're just going to leave her here? With Them on the loose?"

"My apartment is just down the block." Tori felt stupid as soon as the words left her mouth. _Probably shouldn't have said that…_

"She'll be fine." Green said. "They are probably all downtown anyway. Which is where we need to be right now." He added pointedly.

Tori watched as the ninjas ran off into the dark night, leaving her standing in the middle of the sidewalk alone.

_Well that was odd…_

**A/N: And a cliffhanger! Next chapter will be up soon! Please review- I love hearing your feedback! Suggestions and questions are welcome too!**


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